Mary Kay Howard will be the first to tell you that when she became involved with what was then the Cobb Symphony Orchestra, she knew very little about symphonic music.
She had grown up surrounded by music—popular songs from the 1940s, Irish tunes sung by her grandfather, musicals attended with her grandparents, folk albums she took with her to college—but the symphony was largely unfamiliar territory. Even growing up in Cleveland, home to one of the country’s great orchestras, classical music simply wasn’t part of her family’s world.
Then, sometime around 1979 or 1980, a water aerobics class changed everything.
At the old YWCA on Henderson Street, Mary Kay met Martha Lewis, an active member of the Cobb Symphony Guild. Martha talked about the orchestra, the Guild and, perhaps most importantly, the people.
“She said it was a fun group,” Mary Kay remembers. “I went to a meeting and really enjoyed all the people.”
That simple invitation began a relationship with the orchestra that has now spanned more than four decades.
Mary Kay became deeply involved with the Symphony Guild, eventually holding nearly every officer position and serving as its president, which also brought a seat on the orchestra’s Board of Directors. In those years, the Guild was much more than a social auxiliary. It was a vital fundraising and volunteer force behind the orchestra.
“If something needed to be done, the Guild did it,” Mary Kay said.
And there was always something to be done.
Guild members sold Christmas wreaths, organized galas and silent auctions, supported concerts, and created fundraising events. Mary Kay chaired the Black Tie 5K and spent years helping with the Celebrity Luncheon, an ambitious event that paired guests with local personalities and filled the room with silent auction offerings.
Then there was what became affectionately known as “Party Central.”
Once people discovered Mary Kay could entertain, her home became a gathering place for the organization. She hosted donor receptions, holiday parties and gatherings for conductor candidates. She baked hundreds of cupcakes and untold numbers of Christmas cookies. She sold tickets. She ushered. She served as Interim Co-Executive Director. If the GSO needed a hand, there was a very good chance Mary Kay’s was already raised.
Some of her favorite memories come from the moments behind the scenes. She served on the search committee that ultimately selected Timothy Verville as Music Director—one of many opportunities she has had to help shape the organization she has supported for so many years.
Watching the GSO develop through the years has been especially gratifying.
“The caliber of the music has really increased,” she said. “Tim’s programming is so meaningful and thoughtful.”
And along the way, the woman who once knew almost nothing about symphonic music learned to love it.
“I can’t identify the pieces by name,” she admits, “but I learned to love the music.” She has a particular affection for the GSO Chorus and for GSO Jazz—especially when the band turns to the old standards.
Perhaps what has kept Mary Kay connected for so many years, though, is something even more fundamental than the music.
“I always loved the atmosphere of this organization,” she said. “It was never hoity-toity. Always welcoming and approachable.”
That spirit has remained important as the organization itself has changed. As the orchestra’s needs grew beyond what the Guild could reasonably support, the volunteer organization eventually evolved into the Friends of the Georgia Symphony Orchestra. Mary Kay helped lead that transition, serving as chair of the new group and continuing the kind of hands-on service that had defined her involvement from the beginning.
Today, her hope for the GSO is both simple and ambitious.
First, she wants it to endure.
“The GSO as a regional orchestra is vital to this community and communities nearby,” she wrote. She hopes others will continue supporting the organization not only financially, but by volunteering “where help is needed.” And, characteristically, she adds: “I plan to continue my support.”
She also dreams of the day when the GSO might have a permanent home—a place that would give the orchestra an even stronger public identity and presence in the community.
For more than 40 years, Mary Kay Howard has watched the orchestra change names, venues, conductors and even volunteer organizations. Through every change, she has continued doing what she did at the very beginning: showing up.
Hosting the party. Baking the cookies. Selling the ticket. Welcoming the newcomer. Serving on the committee. Doing whatever needs to be done.
Organizations build histories through concerts and milestones. But they build communities through people.
For the Georgia Symphony Orchestra, Mary Kay Howard has been one of those people.
